Sugar or Spice
by Wermo
Summary: This story is all about the choice between Amanda and Jessi. Instead of a summary, MFarag, a lady from Cairo who reads and reviews practically every single chapter of mine, summarizes this exceedingly well with a poem at the end of her review. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1: Sugar or Spice

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyle XY

When it came to his romantic life, Kyle couldn't actively decide whether he wanted butterflies or electricity. On the one hand the butterflies made him weak in the knees and feel all mushy and romantic. On the other, he felt almost like an animal. All he seemed to want was touch and feel, skin to skin preferably.

Maybe the typical guy would have no trouble choosing between the sweet Amanda Bloom and the spicy Jessie Trager. No, he thought, it would likely be an easy decision for about 98% of males, if not even higher. They'd go sex appeal all the way, even if logic made it relatively clear the spice wouldn't last long term.

But he was no normal guy. When he so much as kissed Jessi they made lights flicker and there were general electrical surges in the entire house. It would make making out a little bit more risqué to be sure, but how was the situation likely to progress?

It could remain the same. Every time they kissed, however innocently, would have the potential to burn out fuses and light bulbs. If they did so while in the company of others, it would be not only dangerous to the bystander for electric shock, but it would also almost certainly compromise whatever family they tried to bring into the world. He smiled as he thought of making babies with Jessi. Somehow he didn't believe the electricity would simply stay the same…

He dreaded the very real possibility that pursuing Jessi and the promise of a highly charged sexual relationship could do real damage to electrical components and circuits dozens if not hundreds of meters away. What if their bodies became so in tuned to each other that they couldn't even touch each other without setting off a massive charge? They'd literally have to live apart or risk the lives of countless innocents. If he chose Jessi and this happened it would break his heart and break up any family he had with her.

Finally it was entirely possible that their bodies would come to predict the other's movements and charges, effectively annulling them before they could even be generated. Half the fun of being with Jessi was the unknown, the electric potential they so clearly possessed. If the spark simply disappeared, would she leave him in search of that spark? There was clear evidence that some normal humans behaved this way despite being clearly incapable of generating real electricity. Jessi behaved a lot more "normal" than he ever had, and so it was conceivable she'd do the same.

However, if he chose the girl next door, the sweet and adorable Amanda Bloom, he'd have to tell her everything about his past wouldn't he? As Dekeman had once pointed out to him, the major source of conflict for comic superheroes was that their spouses didn't know they were superheroes. This was not an issue with Jessi because she was exactly like him. They'd both been incubated in steel and glass tubes for 16 years before being artificially – and quite accidentally – born into the world.

If he refused to tell her everything she might accept it for a few years, or even a dozen or twenty, but eventually certain questions would build so much doubt and uncertainty that even Amanda, who was quick to forgive and easy to love, would likely experience a general souring of her love. It was entirely probable that she would feel used while he was off "to work," whatever that happened to be.

If he kept her in the dark about his past – how he marveled that he finally understood many common expressions – it was a one way road to either divorce or an ugly separation. Knowing Amanda as he did, she'd probably refuse to divorce him under almost any circumstance, unless she found herself or her children in mortal danger. If he did enlighten her about his past, that danger would certainly not disappear, and she might choose to either not have a family or leave him completely.

But then she had always been quick to accept his quirks, his talents. It had been clear to him that she liked and had the distinct possibility to love him even when she'd been seriously dating Charlie. It was almost like they were magnets that were completely drawn to each other. They were of like mentality on quite a number of subjects, and even though she was a normally bred human with average intelligence, she had clear passion in her heart. There was no doubt in his mind she wanted to share it all with the person she would marry.

Just because their love was innocent and carefree now didn't mean they wouldn't experience plenty of spice in the bedroom. In fact, he thought the most likely of the two to give everything every time was Amanda, only because she wouldn't have a perfect memory of each and every time. Sex might eventually become a sad and predictable routine between him and Jessi while he could certainly revel in the newness Amanda would feel, even if he'd remember every little nip and tug.

For what seemed the thousandth time, he summarized the pros and cons to both women. Amanda was like maple syrup, sweet and sticky, but he had to dive right in and expose that sensitive fly in his ointment. She might not appreciate the danger he carried simply by his continued existence. She might leave him if he so much as told her the truth.

That was the reason why he kept waffling about it so much. He dreaded her discarding him because of the potential of danger. He admitted there had already been plenty of danger already with Latnok, and it seemed unlikely to slow down.

Jessi on the other hand was like a spicy exotic fruit, and yet surprisingly domestic, because she knew everything about him because she was exactly like him. The main drawback with her was the uncertainty of the progression of their love life. Well, that and the highly probable parental disapproval for getting busy with one's legal relative.

There was that too, even if they weren't by blood brother and sister. It was legally wrong for them to hook up.

He idly wondered why Jessi pursued him at all. Yes the attraction was most definitely there and the electricity was phenomenal, beyond imagining even. But she too knew of the social constraints on their relationship. Why wasn't she fazed by the daunting prospects their love represented? Unless she had already planned a way to erase all record of ever having been adopted by the Trager family, which was almost a certainty now that he thought about it.

Such a plan would surely fix the legal aspects, but the familial ones would be much harder to fix. He didn't want there to be a wedge between him and the other people he loved, primarily his family.

It was for these reasons that he'd never proclaimed to have made a choice in the matter of Amanda Bloom versus Jessi Trager. He couldn't make the choices without realistically hurting a portion of himself. By choosing Amanda, even if he told her the truth and she stayed with him – the best case scenario – Jessi would likely forever shun him, and quite possibly become a worse person without his direct influence.

He sighed as he thought of how rebellious Jessi could be. It could be nasty indeed.

If he chose Jessi, he'd lose his family, or at least his parents' support. That would hurt him more than he thought Jessi realized. He needed his family's love, support, and acceptance to keep him grounded. Amanda might even learn to accept him if he chose Jessi but it would doubtlessly be rough on Jessi if she stuck around.

So he was back to the beginning, still unable – or perhaps unwilling – to make a final choice between the sugar and the spice. He sighed heavily.

There were two other possibilities that he generally avoided out of principle. He could remain alone by choice, for his entire life. Or he could choose another, perhaps less sweet or less spicy, maybe even bitter. He realized there might even be the potential to "go gay", despite his lack of feelings. He could surely convince himself such an arrangement was best, but he also knew he'd be deluding himself, skirting the issue. He found he particularly enjoyed the company of women, in a vastly different way than the guys on the basketball team, Declan included. So no, he wasn't really gay.

The main issue was that even though he'd just turned 20, he already felt his biological clock ticking. He wanted babies of his own. Conventionally that would require a girlfriend or a wife, and only Amanda was likely to desire children this soon, but only if they were married.

His thoughts drifted to the people who'd created him: Adam Baylin and Grace Kingsley. That was another choice, and was fraught with one main danger: he'd lose himself to the power he would cultivate. Very, very easily, he could create an army of children, of super human children. Even with the best intentions, someone inside Latnok could almost certainly get him to do somewhat questionable things to the least promising children, and he would start a cycle that would end in the loss of his humanity altogether.

He absolutely couldn't abide that idea at all, and therefore came back to the problem at hand: Amanda, Jessi, or another girl, somewhere in the middle? Maybe he could go for an ugly duckling perhaps, to ease the pain to their egos? Alternatively, he could always befriend a rich model type and say he'd been swept off his feet?

Kyle only didn't have more romantic prospects because he didn't allow them to happen in the first place. He even saw relationship potential with Hillary, but that too would be fairly high energy relationship, prone to burning out quickly. It was also compounded by the facts they were near opposites and that he'd probably have to tell her the truth about himself too at some point.

He knew 184 girls at school alone who looked at him in that special way, and twelve guys that did too. These figures didn't even take into account adults he'd met at the University and in the general population.

He sighed again, even more heavily than before. Another girl wouldn't work, because he was already too attached to both Jessi and Amanda.

Inspiration struck. Was it possible? Could it work?

He examined the solution for its benefits in detail then contrasted them against the costs. Some of the costs were pretty high, but he had Adam's estate to himself, and it was considerable nearly beyond imagining. With his skills and talents he could undoubtedly keep ahead of the growing costs by doing what he did best: solving problems.

The only problems that commonly eluded him were matters of the heart.

He knew well that he might lose Amanda with this option, but there were already 185 other girls, including Jessi, including Hillary, who would likely jump at such an opportunity. And yet maybe Amanda could be a willing participant too, and she'd almost certainly pass the second stage as well, unlike 70-80% of the others.

Yes, he thought, nodding, that was a viable option. It only wasn't pretty, and would cause some family stress, but not quite as much as choosing Jessi exclusively.

He would accept any healthy female and would implant his seed within them whether they required "protection" or not. He could easily manipulate water after all; what would the effort be in moving a single thing toward a much bigger spherical thing while he was supposed to be madly thrashing around? He could even make sure otherwise sterile women would get pregnant.

That would open the doors that much wider. He could have as many children legitimately as he wanted. He would only need to do Amanda first, to ensure he didn't lie to anyone. Having seen how Charlie had done it, among others, it would be easy to advertise a good time to the general female population.

It would be easy as Pi. He laughed at his math joke, thinking it uniquely his.

Even if both Jessi and Amanda leave him after the fact, with his perfect memory he could always revisit his memory and experience sugar and spice whenever he craved it.


	2. Chapter 2: Sweet and Spicy

With Jessi away training with Foss in the Grand Canyon, it was time to seduce the sweet Amanda Bloom. He found her at the Rack at the end of her shift and greeted her with a bright, confident smile. "Hi Amanda," he said.

Whenever he smiled, she seemed to return it with her whole heart. Even though he'd told her just yesterday that he needed time to make a choice between his sugar and spice – not that he had put it quite that way to her – she reacted as he had predicted. She had assumed one of two possibilities: she'd been chosen or no choice had yet been made.

"Hi Kyle," she said with her bright smile. When he made no move to her, she tilted her head slightly and squinted. It was her adorable questioning look. "You're not here for a smoothie?"

"I'm here to walk you home."

Her eyes shined with the statement. She moved quickly toward him, "I'd love that!"

He held out his arm in the gentlemanly way girls in the movies Jessi and Amanda both watched – did they not realize they liked many of the same romantic mushy stuff? She hastily and giddily took the proffered arm and squeezed it to her.

He was acutely aware of just where his arm was. Although he'd made his decision late last night, it didn't mean he couldn't be nervous about it. Butterflies were flying all over his insides as she held him terrifically close.

Kyle smiled to Josh when he noticed Josh roll his eyes. He nodded and did something slightly out of the ordinary for him. He stuck out his thumb from his free fist and kept it out of her view but in Josh's and then winked to him.

It had the desired effect: Josh stood stock still with his jaw hanging wide open.

Kyle turned to Amanda and said, "Shall we?"

Without hesitation she whispered, "Yes please." With those words they went out the door and were soon on the sidewalk, walking at a very leisurely pace.

As they passed the park beside the Rack, he heard her sigh as she squeezed herself even closer to him. "This was very sweet of you Kyle," she murmured almost under her breath.

He didn't answer her with words but squeezed her back instead. Besides, she was his sugar, not the other way around. They continued the slow progress to her house and he found himself counting the steps they took. They were already at 253 for him, 331 for her. Now however, he kept his steps in perfect harmony with hers to keep her from bouncing in his grip.

After some hesitation, he started, "When we get to your house, I would like to show you something on the piano."

"Sure," she said quietly. "But only if my mom's not home. She knows we're not dating anymore and wouldn't approve of my bringing you over under those circumstances."

He saw the fish hook she offered. She'd mischievously tried to get him to say that he'd chosen her exclusively. Well, considering his plans, he couldn't say it and stay truthful afterward. He smiled down at her, saying nothing at all.

In any case, he'd made sure Carol Bloom wouldn't be home. Her boss had an emergency that had conveniently reared its ugly head just an hour ago. How bad he'd been to start the problem! It did tweak his conscience to a significant degree, but he needed to get Amanda first, or she'd most certainly never agree to anything even remotely intimate.

They stayed silent again for another 211 steps. He speculated they'd be at her house in another 380 or so. Their steps weren't always the same size and therefore introduced an unknown in an otherwise simple equation.

He sighed but caught it before it had gotten too big.

"What's up?" Amanda asked, straightening and releasing her hold a little more than he liked.

He forced his cheeks to blush by pumping blood into them. He smiled and said, "It's embarrassing and I'd rather not talk about it."

She smiled in a devilishly cute way, "Oh, pray tell kind sir," she said in a forced British accent.

It had taken him a few seconds to get enough blood to the other area to get an exaggerated reaction. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed, "The last time it happened you rescued me from drowning." After a quick, calculated pause, he said, "You'd been rather uncomfortable at the time as I recall my fair lady." He tacked on a British accent at the end.

The hook he'd given her would show him how much effort he'd have to expend to get her in a suitable condition for his experiment. He didn't expect this attempt to work, and even thought he'd have to spend a few days to accomplish this first goal, but he was instantly surprised when she glanced at him, down there.

"Oh my!" she said rather loudly. He felt her blushing now as well. Yet through it all, she squeezed his arm harder.

The excitement inside him was building too quickly he felt – maybe he'd gone a little overboard with the artificial stimulation – so he actively counted the steps they took, still in perfect harmony. "Six hundred," he announced.

"Six hundred what?" she asked.

He'd known very well she'd question such a statement. "Steps we've taken since we left the Rack."

She released her grip on his arm a little more than he'd liked. "You've been counting steps all this time?"

"And a number of other more embarrassing thoughts, I admit." He knew he was still blushing a little from before.

"Good, because I thought that was strange even for you." She said the words smiling broadly.

His smile faltered ever so slightly as he looked into her eyes. "About that, um…" He trailed off, unable or unwilling to continue. His steps even fell out of synch with hers, making her bounce in relation to him. He quickly and effortlessly corrected that.

She surprised him with her next words, "I want you to pick me Kyle. I think," she paused slightly and turned away, "I think I loved you even when I was with Charlie."

"I know I loved you. Josh and Lori teased me about it for weeks if not months." There was no hiding his embarrassment but it also felt good to let the truth out.

They took several steps and she started to snuggle his arm again. "Did you lie to me Kyle?"

"No," he said very quickly. "What do you mean?" he asked when she had turned to him with her questioning look. It was even cuter than usual because it even held a small smile in her mouth and in her eyes. She was certain of something.

Her smile grew as she stared into his eyes. "You lied to me when I asked you if you liked me in the library on your first day of school."

Talk about digging up the past! She may not have his perfect memory, but it was a wonder to him that she would bring this up now. Considering there was nothing to hide or be ashamed of anymore, he welcomed the truth. "Yes I did." He interrupted her with his free hand on her lips. She silenced immediately, and her heart beat a little faster. "I fell for you the day I heard you play on the piano. You were an angel, though I didn't know what an angel was at the time."

It was her turn to be quiet for a time. "I have to be honest Kyle, you've always been remarkable. It took you only a few days to remember how to talk and since then you've been able to do so many wondrous things."

"The prom," he said lightly.

She turned to him with something like fire in her eyes. "Can you even forget things Kyle?"

"It takes effort," he answered instinctively, his guard down.

She stopped walking and pulled him to a stop too. "Jessi's just like you."

He didn't like the direction their conversation was going. It was going all wrong. He thought there was a high probability she would give him up for Jessi. He had to try and change those odds before it was too late. "She's my sister." It was blunt beyond belief, even for him, but sometimes a blunt weapon was necessary.

"That hasn't stopped either of you." Her tone reflected past pain very clearly. She was very good at wielding blunt weapons too.

If he continued the discussion – or argument, he couldn't quite decide at this point – he knew she had him painted into a corner. Check mate was inevitable. Only a parlay or bargain could get him out safely. "I really want to show you something on your piano."

"And I was trying to seduce you," she said.

He was totally confused. One moment she pushed him away, and the next she tried to lure him in. He said the first words that came to him, "But you were just going to give me up to Jessi. You were going to make my decision for me."

She didn't react to his accusations. "Relationships go two ways Kyle. It's not just your decision."

"It's not?"

She sighed noisily before she took his hand in hers and pulled him along toward her house. "If my mom's not home, we'll talk there."

He opened his mouth and almost told her she would be absent but caught himself just in time. How naïve could he be?

At the much quicker pace, it didn't take long to get to her house. She saw the empty driveway and said, "Good, she's not home." She didn't smile though and it worried him.

She dragged him to the front door, closed the door firmly behind them, and even locked it. She said, "Come with me," and pulled him up the stairs, never even glancing at her piano. Upstairs was good though; it meant her bedroom.

The butterflies were buzzing noisily inside him. His knees were weakening and his resolve to tackle the developing scenario with an objective, clinical eye was dissolving rapidly. She opened her bedroom door and shooed him inside. She left him in her bedroom for a moment and went to the bathroom. He didn't have the heart to listen to what she was doing; he was too nervous.

He did notice the bathroom fan being turned on, only because it was loud. The toilet was never flushed but she used the sink, probably to wash her hands. He stared at Amanda's bed, which was certainly large enough for the two of them. He swallowed hard.

She appeared in the doorway and gently pushed him further into her room by placing a delicate hand to his back. She had a towel in her hand and some clothes folded above it. She wore very little, and his eyes were instantly distracted by what her clothes normally hid.

Amanda Bloom definitely had spice. He swallowed hard for the second time.

She stared hard at him as she put the clothes in a pile at the end of her bed and she draped the towel on the corner of the open door. "I'm not doing this to have sex with you."

The word sex burned his ears. "You could have fooled me," he said, his voice suddenly husky.

She turned away from him, a smile on her lips. It wasn't her normal smile though. It was planned, determined. She opened the window and raised the blinds before she turned back to him. "If you hear my mother in the driveway, you have to get dressed and jump out the window before she sees you."

Her words were spoken with steel, with an edge that could cut just about anything. The sweet Amanda Bloom wasn't just spicy, she had an edge; she was dangerous.

She rushed to him and hastily removed his shirt before giving him a big hug. Although their temperatures were very close, she felt like her skin was blazing hot. She pulled away enough to kiss him fiercely while she pushed him toward her bed.

When they landed and her lips weren't still stuck to his, he scrambled his resistance, "What are you doing?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She rose onto her knees and displayed the sight that had eluded him for so long. It didn't disappoint – and now he might even revisit it in his memories for as long as he lived! "I'm giving you – us! – a taste of our future."

He finished her statement with a terribly sober thought. "If I pick you."

She smiled sadly at him. "Mood killer!" She giggled nervously and said, "How could you not pick me?" With that her lips found his and her face and golden hair dominated his senses. Her skin, wherever it touched his, seemed to react chemically to his. His breathing quickened, his pulse quickened, and he grew somewhat delirious. All he could think of was Amanda and her body as it squirmed and squiggled atop him.

As he had suspected, there would be more than enough spice in the bedroom if he picked her.

Hadn't he already chosen a path, a course that involved not only Amanda and Jessi, but anyone else who wanted him? Gazing into her eyes, his plans were blatantly destroyed.

When she was done with a fiery trail of kisses on his neck, he muttered, "I'm yours, do as you will!" He was done fighting.

She smiled radiantly. "Can't stop here," she said breathlessly. He relaxed his entire body as she scooted further down his legs. He vaguely knew where she was and what she was doing but he didn't actively pay too much attention. He wanted the memory to be imperfect, so that he might be able to experience the same range of emotions and sensations the next time.

There was no way he'd pick anyone but Amanda, his sugar, his spice, his everything nice!  
He felt his entire body contract when he felt her hand touch him, down there. The very next moment, he smelled ozone in her bedroom. Alarmed, he saw his sweet Amanda, blinking rapidly, her face blackened as with soot, and her hair standing straight in all directions.

She somewhat miraculously could speak, "I didn't expect that."

A cruel twist of fate had Carol Bloom's car pull up into the driveway of the home. He doubted he would have heard it even half a minute ago. "Your mom's here," he whispered as he rose to his feet and readjusted his drawers and the rest of his clothes.

She only nodded, and tried valiantly to smooth her hair. "I don't think that was supposed to happen," she said.

"Me neither," he said with a sad smile.

"You'll have to explain."

She said the words will all the authority she could muster, but she was clearly afraid too.

"I will, even if it makes you leave me." He jumped out the window and landed effortlessly onto his head, and died instantly.

***

A parent's most fearsome memories typically involved the death of their child. But finding your teenaged daughter in only her panties screaming at the top of her lungs for an ex boyfriend who seemed to have killed himself by jumping out her bedroom window? Even ignoring her daughter's inexplicable wild hair and her darkened face, which ought to trouble her too, it was insignificant when compared to what happened next.

The girl next door, another adopted child with a dark past, came running butt naked. She briefly and coldly stared at Amanda's open window, into her eyes. The girl was understandably confused when she saw her, Carol Bloom, standing there, staring at the dead ex boyfriend on the ground.

When Jessi crouched beside the dead ex boyfriend, her brother, and somehow knocked out the power for the neighbourhood and revived the boy, it really made the next decision crystal clear. With or without Amanda's help or her consent, they were leaving town that night, and never coming back.

***

Kyle opened his eyes and filled his lungs with air. Returning to life was not a pleasant sensation.

The angel who revived him was angry beyond belief. "What the hell did you just do?" she asked, demanding an answer. "Why did you sleep with Carol Bloom?"


	3. Chapter 3: Tender Sweet Spice

Kyle didn't notice Jessi's lack of clothing until after she'd carried him back to her room. She carefully put him on her bed. Feigning nonchalance, since he never answered Jessi's questions, he decided to ask a question of his own. "Why are you naked?" His eyes had tried valiantly to remain on hers but wandered down to her midsection which revealed even more abdominal muscles than he had.

If there were such a term, she'd have a 12-pack. So many muscles!

Jessi was angry and wouldn't let go of her bone. "No you don't Kyle," she said, berating him. She pulled his face and his eyes back up to hers with a smooth motion of her hand. "You have to answer me first: why did you sleep with Carol Bloom?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Jessi," he lied. Of course he'd seen Carol standing in shock at Amanda's window.

She slapped him across the face, hard, but then with all those muscles it was no surprise. "Don't you dare lie to me Kyle! Why did you do it?" she asked, practically frothing at the mouth.

He sighed, defeated. "I didn't; I almost slept with Amanda though." The thought of Amanda brought a smile to his lips.

Jessi stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Because she too had a hyper developed brain, her confusion didn't remain for more than four seconds. "But…" She started, faltering. "Why would you land on your head?" She brightened immeasurably at a thought which he found somewhat cruel. "Was she that _bad_?"

It was his turn to stare at her hard, and angry. Why couldn't these two girls just get along? It would make his plan to keep both of them so much easier. "No Jessi, she was so good I almost electrocuted her. _That's_ why I jumped on my head." He was thankful for Jessi's unscheduled arrival though. Thinking back, jumping on his head had been rather final and impulsive. He shushed her incoming tirade with a hand to her lips, which predictably sent sparks at the touch. "Thank you for saving me."

She softened considerably at his words. She nipped at his fingertips with her lips, sending a charge down his arm. "So," she started, "You picked her?"

He shook his head. It was true that while he'd been with Amanda he'd completely surrendered to her will, but when he'd almost killed her, he had to change his mind. He couldn't risk killing her every time they had sex, could he? Of course not, he was far from heartless! He only worried that the population at large would also be at risk of electrocution, and therefore only Jessi was left.

The choice was made, had been made the moment he'd jumped out that window.

And now that insanity had passed, now that he was alive and breathing once more thanks to a vibrant, naked angel, she had to know the truth. "I have to pick you Jessi."

"Oh thanks!" She raised her hand and was about to strike him again when she saw something that stopped her. "Oh Kyle!" she exclaimed and rushed to his cheek where she'd slapped him previously. With a kiss, he felt healing power flow through her lips directly into his skin. When he knew the small amount of damage was fixed, he turned and kissed her back.

Despite the lack of power in the house, the solitary light bulb in the fixture above them burst with a loud pop as their kiss deepened. Jessi withdrew, breathless. She jumped on top of him. His clothing seemed a rather large impediment at the moment, but he wasn't going to rush things. He didn't want Jessi to experience the same explosive discharge Amanda had after all.

It wasn't a question of whether Jessi could handle it – he was sure that she could.

"How did it happen?" Jessi asked with a sly smile.

Why Jessi was determined to change the subject back to Amanda was beyond him. He played dumb. "How did what happen?" He had tried to keep his face straight but knew he had failed miserably.

"How did you almost kill her?"

His eyes hardened, but only for a moment while he was indignant. "Did you have to phrase it that way Jessi?"

"Okay," she said, softening. Her eyes pierced his as a coy smile played across her features. "What did she do before you ignited?" He knew just by looking in her eyes that she still wanted to say something like "practically blew her up" or "fricasseed her pretty face," but minus the pretty of course.

There was no way he'd ever describe to Jessi what Amanda had done. He was a gentleman. "She gave me a taste, a sample, of what I'd get if I chose her."

"Just like that? No preamble?" Jessi's mouth hung open for two seconds. Kyle could feel the curses and insults being thought; they weren't very nice. "She wasn't naked was she?" she asked accusingly.

He felt the truth fly out of his mouth. "She wore flattering lacy underwear but no bra." He couldn't suppress a smile at the memory. Granted Jessi was an altogether different manner of woman. His eyes lost contact with her eyes and traveled down. She made no effort to hide herself, just like the time when he'd accidentally seen her in the shower. His smile grew.

Kyle took the opportunity to get some truth out of her. "So why are you naked?" He started to reach out but an electrical surge stung his hand more than a foot away from his target.

She wagged a finger at him, "No touchy. _This_ will be a taste of what you'll get if you pick me."

He let go of the unanswered question. "Did you willingly set off that discharge?"

She smiled very broadly. "Try again and find out."

With a broad smile of his own, like a child's smile when a huge chocolate chip cookie is just within his reach, he tried once more and got to within half an inch before the discharge sent his hand away. His eyes were round like saucers. "You did!"

"I'll admit I have to be ready first." She bent down and kissed him, but rose immediately. "This won't do!" she said. She opened her eyes wider and focused. He was only confused for half a second, before he discerned what exactly she was doing.

With a string of loud pops the buttons of his shirt jumped ship and landed in a neat pile on her dresser. His shirt on the other hand ripped itself to shreds.

"Oops," she whispered. She bent toward him and kissed him, gently, tenderly. He tried to move his hands but couldn't; they were held in place by her mind. He surely could have pulled himself out from the hold if he really wanted to, but he found this soft sensual side to Jessi a pleasant surprise, kinky even.

Her skin, in sharp contrast to Amanda's, was a perfect match to his skin's temperature. She lightly trailed her fingers down his arms, with a slight spark at her fingertips. She kissed him lightly, repeatedly, and rained charged kissed down his jaw bone to his ear.

All thought of any previous make-out sessions flew right out of his head. There was only Jessi, a soft, tender spice with a sweet interior. He'd been wrong about her, as most of the male population. She was a romantic at heart, and wouldn't just madly thrash on him at every opportunity! She would build the tension, increase the pressure until it begged release.

He breathed a deep contented sigh as she whispered in his ear, electricity seemingly on her very breath. "Do you willingly pick me now?" she asked.

"You had me when you kissed me," he replied.

"No more Amanda?" she asked, teasing.

"Who's Amanda?"

"Great!" she exclaimed and she kissed him one more time, and she brought her tongue into his mouth. His cheeks tingled with the soft charge. He lost himself in the kiss but all too soon she came up for air. He knew deep inside they didn't really _need_ air, so he looked at her questioningly, begging for an explanation. "We have to stop, I hear Josh's car down the street. But first…"

She scooted down his legs while he focused his hearing. She was right of course; it was definitely Josh's car. He concentrated on it, trying to blow a gasket or something, to keep Josh outside for just a few more minutes. He soon heard a loud pop down the street. All other sounds dissolved soon after that.

His awareness was increasingly on what Jessi was doing. Only after he felt a familiar tension build in every fiber of his body did he open in mouth in alarm.

Jessi's face was covered in something that looked an awful lot like soot and her hair was bone straight in every direction. The air inside her room smelled like ozone.

"She got this too didn't she?" Her voice wasn't quite as confident as it had been only moments before. There was also no question who _she_ was.

"Yeah." Kyle felt really down. The problem was not whether he should choose sugar or spice because both Amanda and Jessi were a combination of the two. The pit of his stomach knotted as he wondered whether another girl, a girl who either had little sugar or little spice would produce the same result.

He sighed as Jessi got up in alarm. It perked his senses up. "Josh!" She hastily grabbed a shirt and shorts and ran out the door. Josh was yelling and screaming for help. As dread really settled into his gut, he sat up and looked for the buttons on Jessi's dresser.

His eyes focused on where they were supposed to be, then he noticed where they were, embedded into the wall in an arc, away from him. His shredded shirt was mere strips of ash, but thankfully Jessi's bed seemed undamaged.

He overheard Jessi yelling, "Josh, get away from there!" Josh ran valiantly. Kyle must have concentrated a little too hard on damaging Josh's car because he then heard a massive explosion. He was relieved when he heard both Jessi and Josh talking loudly over the crackling flames.

"Woah sis, what have you been doin'?" Kyle pictured Josh touching her bone straight hair, and maybe even getting a little shock from doing so.

Whenever Jessi was caught off guard was the best time to get a very blunt version of the truth. "I touched Kyle's…" she trailed off, just a tad too late.

"What?" Josh yelled.

Kyle buried his head into his hands, no longer wanting to hear the tirade from Josh. He was back to the beginning. Unless of course he asked Hillary, or maybe a stranger at that bar where they allow underage drinking…

When he overheard Josh and Jessi, as well as Amanda and Carol Bloom, say "What?" in unison, he felt like he needed to melt into Jessi's bed. Both Amanda and Jessi would know they'd gotten to the same point, the same base if you will. It was really embarrassing, even if Mrs. Bloom didn't figure it out which he felt was quite unlikely.

And Josh almost certainly knew too.

Kyle groaned. Maybe he should have stayed dead after all.


	4. Chapter 4: Bittersweet Old Spice

He just couldn't shake it. Being with Hillary's mom was just wrong, and yet here he was, in bed with her. The bedroom door was wide open! Kyle had intended to try Hillary first, a purely spicy fling, but when Hillary's mom answered the door and looked him up and down, in a bathrobe no less, he'd thought, why not?

And yet now, he had to suppress a series of shudders. Sure, some were pleasant, but many weren't. They were downright creepy!

Hillary's mom – he didn't even know her name! – was a lonely single mom who had a few small jobs going but was home today because she had felt like it. She collected an obscene amount of alimony and child support from her ex husband so she never really _had_ to work. Kyle opened his right eye and found himself staring directly at a sharp stud, and closed it immediately.

"Tell me you've done this before!" It wasn't a question, but certainly sounded like one. "A hottie like you can't possibly be a _virgin_!"

He gasped and tried to envision every kind of grapefruit imaginable, to help his predicament, but she was mightily determined to keep him going. He tried valiantly to distance himself from the situation, to get a more clinical approach to the proceedings.

He wasn't with Hillary's mom; he was just with a ferocious, hungry, love-starved she-beast.

The fact she wore a full body black leather outfit didn't help. It was the reason he kept his eyes shut; he didn't want to get poked in the eye by one of the sharp metal studs everywhere. Yet oddly the sharpest metal points were on places where he'd previously found he liked looking! Not anymore; he would be scarred for life!

Thankfully it didn't take very long for her to get thoroughly excited. She scooted down his legs and said with a mad cackle, "I'm ready; let's see if you are!" He shut his eyes tightly and tried in vain to ignore what she was doing.

It wasn't terrible he concluded, but it was just plain wrong! He'd never do this again! It was bitterly sweet if anything. That of course and creepy with a capital C.

When his body suddenly tightened and the smell of ozone permeated the air, he knew belatedly it had happened again. This time he didn't even have the chance to warn her. He opened his eyes after he heard a heavy crash on the floor beside the bed. Maybe the lamp had fallen?

Kyle wasn't that lucky. Hillary's mom's face was covered in soot and her previously tight grey curls were bone straight in every direction. What was different however was her right hand gripping fiercely at her chest. Kyle blinked once then a second time before he fully realized what had happened.

She was dead.

He couldn't just leave her like that of course so he got up and knelt beside her after he'd pulled his pants back up. Kyle put his hand on the lady's chest and concentrated.

"Mom, can you _please_ keep it down," shouted Hillary. "Fantasies are good and all but you're a dis—" Hillary stood frozen just inside the door to her mother's bedroom, with her eyes locked on his. "Distinguished woman, poised and discrete in public," she finished, every ounce drained from her.

The lights flickered and went out as he revived Hillary's mom. She looked wildly from side to side and mumbled, "Where am I? What happened?"

Kyle smiled to her and said, "Good thing I heard you calling for help ma'am. If I hadn't come in time, you might have actually died." He stood up woodenly and walked beside Hillary, whose jaw was working soundlessly like a zombie.

He got to the front door before Hillary called his name and rushed down the long hallway. "Kyle, aren't you forgetting your shirt?" She raced down the stairs and handed it to him.

"Thanks Hillary," he said with little emotion.

"Why my mom?" she asked, still shocked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied. And boy did he lie badly.

"I would have been willing!" she wailed, and clutched his bare arm as he put on his shirt.

"Do you want _that_ to happen to you too?" With his eyes he pointed at Hillary's mother, who appeared from the hallway.

"I trust I won't see you again young man?" It wasn't a question but an order.

"No ma'am." He turned to Hillary, and finished, "I'll be invisible."

With those few words he left the expensive house. He was at a loss as to what he should do. Neither sugar, nor spice, nor bittersweet old spice lifted this curse.

He'd just have to do it himself, and impregnate women from a distance.

It was the only way.

He walked home, feeling dejected. Well, at least two people, mother and daughter, were already done. He'd only needed to know Hillary was willing before he'd gone ahead. Even with her clothing on, she'd never noticed a single near microscopic amount of fluid floating through the air between them.

Now if only Amanda and Jessi returned to him. He hadn't seen either of them after that day, one week ago. He knew now he'd clumped them a little too close together. Oh well, life was for learning and he'd learned that lesson well.

FIN

**Author's Note: Yeah, I know I will have creeped out just about every Kyle XY fan out there, myself included! _ I think it was something in my drink. I'll stick to that explanation ok?**


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